Food and travel captivate Janet Podolak, who chronicles both for The News-Herald. Get the back story of her three decades of stories here. Guest bloggers and fellow News-Herald staffers also periodically share details of their trips.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Feeling right at home is easy at Lighthouse Key Resort and Spa in Kissimmee

News-Herald sportswriter Theresa Neuhoff Audia shares her experiences while on an Easter vacation in Orlando, Florida.

If you've ever been to Orlando, you know the traffic can be unbearable at times.
Making a trip to the local CVS at home in Cleveland takes about 10 minutes round trip. Here in Orlando? It's at least 20 minutes if not more.
That's why I was so relieved when we pulled off the W. Irlo Bronson Highway and into the gated entrance at Lighthouse Key Resort and Spa in Kissimmee.When the iron gate opens, you feel as if you've just pulled into a quiet oasis in the middle of chaos.
The low key resort is a welcomed sight to somone who has just endured months of snow and cold. When we arrived a few days ago in the middle of the afternoon, our four-bedroom condo was still in the process of being cleaned.
It really wasn't a problem though.
One of the resort workers set us up with an open tab at the poolside bar and it gave us some time to unwind and sip on some fruity drinks which went down smoothly after an early-morning flight out of 35 degree weather.
The wait for our four-bedroom condo was worth it. It didn't take my husband, his family and I long to quickly settle into the tidy, updated vacation spot.
One of the first things we did after we unpacked was make a trip to the grocery store to stock up for the week. It's so convenient to have a full kitchen with a refridgerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, plates, cups, pots, pans and utensils. Considering the high price of eating out in the local restaurants, making a few meals of your own not only saves you money, but it also saves the time of standing in lengthy lines.
Even though we had a full refridgerator of food, we still opted to go out to eat and treat ourselves on the first night at nearby Miller's Orlando Ale House. It's a great local kid-friendly bar/restaurant with reasonably priced food and numerous cold, draft beers to choose from. I would highly recommend it. The seafood macaroni and cheese is outstanding.
To kick our vacation off the right way, my husband and I scheduled 50-minute Swedish massages the following morning at the spa located right on the premises at Lighthouse Key Resort and Spa. The experience was heavenly. My massage therapist worked out all of the kinks in my body which were built up after a long, exhausting Cleveland winter.
I'm not always good at treating myself to spa treatments, but this luxary experience made me want to splurge more often. If getting a massage isn't your preference, skin care treatments, body therapies and hand and food treatments are also available.
When I am on a warm-weather vacation, I love spending most of my time at the beach or pool. Our resort has a family-friendly pool which doesn't get nearly as loud or crazy at nearby Orange Lake. It was a relaxing way to spend most of our days.
At night, we ventured off to the Orlando Improv Comedy Club in downtown Orlando which is less than 30 miles away. What a great way to spend an evening. The comedy club is upscale and has some of the top acts in the country. The night we went, we saw John Henton, a Cleveland born comic, who was hilarious.
Another night, we checked out an Orlando Magic game. What a great place to see a basketball game. Unlike Cleveland, where you quickly want to get in and out of the arena because of the cold, brutal weather, you actually want to soak in the atmosphere outside of Amway Center because there's an undeniable buzz in the air before games.
Tomorrow morning, we are getting up early to go to Epcot. We are lucky becuase our resort is just a few miles away. I am looking forward to taking in at least one Disney park.
It's taken a few days, but I think I've finally hit that point in the vacation where I am highly relaxed.
Hopefully, the feeling will last for at least a few days when I return to sunless Cleveland.